DAP Championship golf tournament donates $224,023 to the LeBron James Family Foundation

CRAIN'S AKRON BUSINESS

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LeBron James announces plans for the LeBron James Family Foundation's I PROMISE School in April 2017.

The money from Cleveland's Web.com Tour Finals golf tournament will go to support the foundation's I PROMISE efforts, which help Akron students stay in school. This is the second year the tournament has donated to the foundation.

The tournament made the announcement on Monday, Feb. 12, when Ron Rice, president and chief operating officer of DAP's parent company, RPM International, presented a check to LJFF executive director Michele Campbell at East Community Learning Center in Akron.

The money comes from the revenues of the 2017 event, held last September at Canterbury Golf Club in Beachwood, and will go toward the foundation's I PROMISE program, which works with Akron schoolchildren in a host of ways to help them stay in school. Some students who enter the program in third grade and continue through high school will receive four-year college scholarships.

The funds will help the LJFF "continue to provide resources, support, and enriching experiences for the more than 1,200 Akron Public School students and their families currently in its I PROMISE program," the release stated.

The LJFF announced last year that it would further that program by partnering with the Akron Public Schools to design an I PROMISE public school.

"After partnering with The LeBron James Family Foundation in anticipation of the DAP Championship, I was humbled by the Foundation's mission and goals," Rice said in a news release. "We are honored to support the Foundation and the Fall 2018 opening of the I PROMISE School for the public school students in Akron. The LJFF team are true Champions and we are thrilled to be part of their wonderful family."

The tournament has lent significant support to the foundation. In two years it began, the DAP Championship has raised more than $447,000 for the LJFF, the release said.

"The support of the DAP Championship and their incredible team has been a

game changer for our Foundation," Campbell said in a statement. "Not only do their contributions help us provide the support our kids desperately need, but their partnership and passion for our mission has created opportunities for our students that we couldn't offer on our own. More than partners, they've become part of our family and we are so thankful for their generosity and support."

The DAP Championship will return to Canterbury Golf Club in September.